CHICKENS: WHY KEEP CHICKENS?

I had an exciting meeting at MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) this morning because, a) it was another great meeting, and b) I discovered one of my table-members wants to raise her own chickens!

Promising to e-mail her my resources, I decided it was a good time to start blogging about them too. Keeping pets in our homes is considered a ritual of growing up and being happy. Guess what? Keeping chickens is even more so!

Anyone with a small yard can keep 2-4 hens with no problem. Unless your city has restrictive regulations, a few hens are quiet and certainly cleaner than that cat that likes to dirty up your gardens. If they are allowed to scratch around your yard they are clean. Many breeds are friendly enough to become pets. And best of all, they will provide your family (and probably neighbors) with super fresh, healthy, nutrient-rich eggs!

Need a selling point for the spouse? Check out this chart from Mother Earth News below. As you can see, a hen that is allowed to run around your yard will gift you with way more nutrition than anything you can buy at the store. Similar quality eggs can be found at some stores and the farmer's market for $4 and up ($5 is standard around here). That in itself lets your hens earn their keep quickly.

Because this is a lengthy subject to do right, I will brush across the basics here, and then expand on the specific topics in seperate posts.

GETTING STARTED

A full-grown hen, ready to lay eggs, will cost you $10-$20.

A better, and more enjoyable route to take is to get day-old chicks from the local feed store and raise them yourself. Depending on how exotic you want to go, chick prices range from $2-$5 per chick.

I'll cover breed choices in a second post, but you want to consider your weather ranges, space, and expectations.

Chickens have been domesticated for thousands of years, and have been bred for specific purposes. Most breeds quit laying in the winter, but others will keep going all year. Originally a tropical animal, chickens don't fare well in cold climates unless you choose a breed that has been bred to survive in colder, northern conditions. And the best layers are light-weight birds, while the meat-type birds don't produce as well. However, thrifty European and American farmers have developed several "heritage" breeds that can both produce substantial eggs and have enough meat on their bones to fill your plate as well when their time comes.

SUPPLIES

You will need to give a lot of thought to your housing for egg-laying chickens. Unless your yard is fenced with 10' high chain-link with the fence going below the ground, consider building or buying a Chicken Tractor to keep them safe. You might not see them, but you probably know if you have neighborhood cats, dogs, raccoons, and other meat-eating critters wandering through your yard. A chicken tractor is a light-weight pen that can be easily slid across the yard, keeping your chickens safe while bringing them to fresh turf each day.

Laying hens will also need a boxed-pen to do their work, otherwise you'll be finding eggs under your shrubs, flowerbeds, and any other cozy, secluded places your hens find to lay eggs!

Even the richest lawns will need some supplementation, so identify sources for grain to feed your hens when they run out bugs, slugs and snails. A feeder can be made or purchased. And of course a water container needs to be near them at all times for clean, fresh water during the day.

At night, hens will roost. Your chicken tractor will fill this need, but if they are on the loose, either provide them with a coop to run to as the sun sets, or plan on having hens in the trees at night. And raccoons and oppossums will find them there!

Finally, notice where you walk outside. Hens on the loose WILL leave frequent desposits to step in, especially on the patio, porch, steps and lawn furniture. If you don't want to hose these down periodically, you might enjoy keeping hens more with a chicken tractor to contain them (big smile).

WEATHER CONSIDERATIONS

Just like people, chickens love temperate weather. If you live where the temperatures get horribly hot or cold, give thought to what breed you want to buy and how you will protect them from the extremes.

Cold winter hens will appreciate a heat lamp or simple light bulb in their coop to take the edge off. Breeds like Buff Orpingtons and Plymouth Rocks were developed to handle the cold and will probably be found out in the snow during the daytime. Hot weather calls for birds with finer plumage that won't hold the heat in, along with a cool source of shade during the days.

PRODUCTION

Hens start laying when they are about four months old. They will be most productive in their first year. The top-laying breeds will lay 6-7 eggs per week at this time, and the dual-purpose breeds will average 3-6 eggs per week. As they get older, production will taper off a bit. When buying your chicks, try not to go overboard getting lots of the cute little things, and give some thought to how many dozen eggs you can store in your fridge as you try to use them and give them away! A family of four will eat very well on 2-3 hens. If you want enough to give as gifts or even sell, 4-6 is manageble.

READY?

If you have found a source of chicks, feed, and are ready to make or buy the necessary accessories, let's get going!